


It's Natural. // Stenbrough

by revsab



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Also hard racial slurs sorry, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bill is also extremely shy around Stan, Everyone Is Alive, Fluff, Georgie is alive, M/M, Stan also seems kinda super creepy, Strong Language, bowers is extremely homophobic, i said fluff but like you can... consider it that later, like super strong, richie and eddie are already dating, so is pennywise but he's a human
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-23 20:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20895995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revsab/pseuds/revsab
Summary: "Is loving another man really so disgusting?"Beverly took his head into her arms. "Of course it's not. You love who you want to love, Bill. And if Bowers comes to you again, kill him!" She suggested, making Bill roll his eyes."It's not that easy, Bev." The redhead giggled and ran her hand through his hair. "Listen, Bill. Feeling attraction to the same gender... it's natural."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> um i don't know how to work AOO help
> 
> ill add more tags when i know what the fuck im doing,,, 
> 
> i have to rewatch it chapter one to get a better grasp on all of the characters, so i'll also revise this later :,>

Bill was never romantically or sexually interested in women. The first time he found out he wasn't was when Richie was showing them all a porn mag. It was like a treasure— the woman's body was as precious as diamonds. 

"Dude, look at her fucking tits! They're almost as big as your mom's, Eds!" Richie exclaimed, pointing to the woman's breasts with his index finger. 

Eddie groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fuck you, dude!" 

Beside the two, Beverly laughed. "But damn, she is smoking hot!" She said, ogling the woman's body. Shifting his glasses, Richie grinned. "You know who else is smoking hot? Your mo—" He received a jab in the side by Eddie, causing him to moan in pain. 

This caused a fit of laughter from Beverly. She held her stomach, head flying back, eyes shut. Richie went to grab Eddie's hand, but the small boy shifted away from him. "Don't touch me! Your hands are dirty as fuck, bastard!" He exclaimed. The two quarreled back and forth until Beverly interrupted. 

"Hey, Bill, Ben, are you two okay? You guys are pretty silent." All eyes turned to the two. Richie snickered when he noticed Ben's face was completely red. "Dude Ben, you're so fucking red, holy shit! Is she that fucking sexy?" Beverly rolled her eyes as she turned her attention to Ben. "You okay, Ben?" 

"I-I'm fine, Beverly." He tried to act cool. The redhead giggled and leaned closer to him. "You're so cute when you're flustered like that!"

Ben began to grow even more embarrassed, but it stopped completely when he overheard Richie, who was talking to Bill. "Dude, Bill, are you good?" Richie put his hand on his shoulder. He didn't respond. 

Richie looked at Bill's expression. He was expecting him to look as embarrassed as Ben did, but he didn't. He looked afraid. His lips were quivering. Was showing him a mag the wrong thing to do? Feeling a little panicked, Richie tried to lighten the mood.

"W-woah, dude, I, um... I-I guess her... uh.. boobs are pretty big, right? Haha... um... yeah, they ARE pretty scary! R-right, Eds?" He side-eyed Eddie, who in turn smacked him across the head. 

Bill didn't feel right. No, not at all. Why? Why wasn't he turned on? Quite a weird thing to ask, but boys going through puberty ought to at least feel something at this!

But he didn't. He didn't feel anything. Furrowing his eyebrows, he looked up at his concerned friends. His heart thudded in his chest. "I-I-I... I—" He choked on the words trying to come out of his mouth. Beverly scooted closer to him. Mouth laid open, Bill struggled to get his point across.

"Th-thu-th—" At this point he's concentrating extremely hard, his nervousness taking him over completely. Was telling them truly the right thing to do? He wasn't sure. In fact, he felt extremely conflicted. Beverly rubbed circles on his back, hoping to soothe his pain. Bill grunted in frustration, wiping his forehead and deciding to try again. 

"I-I... I thu-thu-think I'm— g-g-guh-g-guh-" He tried to spit it out, eyebrows knitting together even more. The four patiently waited. Bill swallowed. "F-fuh-fucking gay!" He exclaimed. It grew quiet. So quiet that Bill heard his heart thudding against his chest. His body grew hot as he began to feel extremely anxious.

Oh, god, what if they look at him like he's disgusting? No, it wasn't a good decision to tell them. He didn't even bother looking up. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Bringing his head level again, he met everyone's eyes. Bill felt his vision becoming blurry when he noticed that their eyes didn't hold a speck of disgust within them. 

That was when they were still in middle school. From then on he decided to be more proud of himself, but he just couldn't. The place Bill and the Loser club grew up in wasn't exactly a welcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community. Even now, when they're in high school and people are starting to take pride in who they are, it seems that Derry is the same old Derry. 

"Hurry on, Bill! You're going to be late for school!" His mom called him from downstairs. Bill swung his backpack around his shoulders, leaving his room. He was immediately out the door to be greeted by Richie and Eddie. 

"Dude, what the fuck took you so long? I could've fucked your mom in the time that you took."

"Can it, trashmouth." Bill said, walking past them. The two tagged along. "I heard there's gonna be a hottie new kid. Definitely not as smoking hot as Eds, though." Richie commented, grinning when it caused Eddie to turn red. Bill rolled his eyes.

"Who cares how hot they are?" Now, that's not to say Bill wasn't interested. He definitely was, only a sliver.

"What if it's a sexy guy who has the fucking ability to kill people because of how sexy he is, then what?!"

"That's not possible, idiot!" Eddie snapped at him. "You never fucking know! Even I might have that ability! I just haven't unlocked it yet."

"Or maybe you're ugly." Bill remarked, smirking when Richie gasped in offense. "How could you say that about your best friend, Billy boy?! Oh, that truly hurts me!" He fake cried. "Come on, Eds, stand up for me!" Richie leaned in to hug the smaller boy.

"I told you not to call me that, trashmouth!" Eddie pushed his face away from him. Richie, in return, seemed to groan in pain. This caused the smaller boy to retract his hand. "D-dude, what? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, it's just that... your mom was a little rough last night." Richie held a shit eating grin as he watched Eddie's face contort in disgust and disappointment.

"Beep-beep, Richie." Bill said, earning a groan from behind him. They eventually caught up to Beverly and Ben, who were waiting down the street. 

"We should take a shortcut, Bowers' gang is down the street. It doesn't look like they're moving anytime soon." Ben said, pointing through towards the woods. They all followed Ben's suggestion, filing into the woods. Bill looked down the street to see Bowers' car parked. He started walking into the pathway, but as he turned, he made eye contact with Henry. "Oh _fuck._" Bill gripped his backpack straps and bolted through the pathway, quickly catching up to his friends.

"Bill?" Beverly asked, but Bill pushed her. "Fucking run." Instinctively, Ben began to sprint as well. 

Richie adjusted his glasses. "Run? Why? I'd rather take my sweet time to school—" He was cut off by a loud honk coming from behind him. Eddie jumped. The five of them looked behind. "Oh, mommy." Eddie mumbled, fumbling with his fanny pack.

"Hey, hey, why are you running? Little rude, dont'cha think? I just want to say hi to my _precious_ friends!" Henry called. "Are you fucking serious?" Richie groaned. 

"Come on, I'd rather not get the living shit beat out of me today!" Eddie, who'd followed behind Beverly, called to Richie. Oh, jesus, why wasn't he running? Henry walked through the pathway, wearing a grin as he spotted the boy with glasses. "It's my favorite fucking _fairy._" 

Richie kneeled down and grabbed a rock. With his free hand, he shifted his glasses up his nose and fiddled with the object. "Where are your friends off to in a rush, four-eyes?" 

"We're on our way to bang your mom, you mullet-wearing asshole!" He shouted at Henry, throwing the rock at him and booking it towards his friends. Henry caught the rock. 

Boy, was he in deep, _deep_ shit. 

"Get back here, you _fucking faggot!_" Richie heard Henry's furious call, only making him run faster. Eventually catching up with his friends, they made it out of the forest alive. Eddie propped himself against a tree, putting his inhaler to his mouth. Bill huffed, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. 

Beverly was kneeled by Ben, who was sitting against another tree. "D-did we lose him?" Ben asked. "I'd hope so," Beverly started.

"I got him real mad." Richie grinned. "Told him I was gonna do his mum— which is obviously true, you know." He said. "We should get to the school before he catches us again." Bill said, standing upright. 

Eddie stood next to Richie as they walked. "How mad was he?"

"Real fuckin' mad. Probably gonna get the absolute fucking shit beat outta me but it was super worth it." Richie said with a wide grin. "Don't worry 'bout lil' ol' me, Eds!" The smaller boy rolled his eyes. ,"Told you not to call me that. And, I'm not worrying about you at all!" 

Richie began to speak in a british accent, making everyone else shush him immediately. Beverly giggled when Bill was able to counter Richie's 'i fucked your mom' jokes. 

Unfortunately, their fun didn't last when they heard Bowers' car pull up beside them. "And where the fuck do you think you fags are goin' huh? Wouldya look'it that, the gang's all here! The fat boy, the stutter, the patch girl, the sissy, and..." Henry's eyes trailed to Richie, "the four-eyes." Richie felt a shiver run down his spine. 

Belch and Vic were in the car as well. Fuck. Bill looked to see the school down the road. There wasn't really anything good about booking it to the school, nobody ever helped them, but it was worth a shot. 

Bill eyed his friends, watching them have the same look of determination. He began to sprint down the street once more. His friends followed behind, but of course they weren't fast enough for a damn car. 

They at least made it to the campus, but Bowers had swerved his car in front of them. "Gonna keep runnin'? I'm a little tired of this game of hide and seek, it's too easy, don't you think?" 

"L-l-leave us alon-nh-ne, B-Bowers." Bill said, keeping his hands on his backpack straps. 

"W-w-w-w-what was t-t-that, B-B-Billy?" Bowers mimicked him, wearing that same douchebag grin. Vic and Belch seemed to grin whenever Bowers did. 

Ben stood behind Bill, clearly afraid of Henry. His side seemed to hurt everytime he was in the presence of his bully. 

Henry stepped out of the car, fiddling with his father's knife. Bill had put out an arm across his friends, as if to shield them. Richie held another rock in his hand, one that was more sharp edged.

Eddie noticed and shifted closer to him. "Dude, what the fuck are you doing?!" He whisper screamed. Richie shushed him. "Shh! Shut up, I know what I'm doing!" 

"No you do _not!_ You're going to get hurt!" 

"Oh, yes I do." Richie tightened his grip on the rock, held his arm back, and threw it at Bowers as hard as he could. 

"_VIBE CHECK, BOWERS!_"

"Jesus Christ, this better knock that punk ass bitch the fuck out." Eddie said.


	2. Beep-beep, Richie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vibe check :)
> 
> i dont like bowers as u can tell. 
> 
> alsopleasedontkillmeforusingracialslurs:,,,(((itsforthestoryqusudhffjdjjd

"VIBE CHECK, BOWERS!" Richie threw the sharp edged rock as hard as he could at Henry.

Eddie fumbled with his fannypack again. "Jesus Christ, this better knock that punk ass bitch the fuck out." The rock hit Henry's forehead dead-on, making Richie go "Oh shit, seriously?!" 

Bowers stumbled backwards, his head tilted back from the impact. He regained his balance and glared directly at Richie. "Oh, you're dead now, you fucking faggot." He snarled, not even minding the blood that was streaming down his head. 

Bill looked back at Richie. If he didn't do anything, he could get seriously hurt. Shifting a little, he heard crunching under his feet. His eyes casted down to the ground. He saw a hand reach down and looked up to see who it was. It was Ben. And he looked angry— rightfully so.

Beverly stood in front of Bowers. Maybe she could reason with him. "Listen, Bowers—" He pushed her into the arms of Ben. "Can it, slut." With a scream dripping with fury, Ben threw a heavier rock at Bowers' head, effectively hitting him again. 

This time, Henry stood completely still. Belch and Vic had stepped out of the car as well. Bowers stared Ben directly in the eyes and took a step toward him. "I didn't know you had such courage in you, tits." Blood dribbled down his forehead and sides of his nose, mixing with his saliva as it coated his pearly white teeth red.

He was about to grab at Ben when another rock hit his head. At this point his head was completely throbbing. 

Not only because of the pain, but because he was growing to be extremely irritated. "B-b-b-back away, B-Bowers-s." Bill stuttered, biting his bottom lip. As Bowers completely turned his attention to Bill, Ben had pushed Beverly behind him protectively.

Henry opened his mouth to speak, but Eddie had picked up the closest rock he could find and threw it at Bowers. "Eds!" Richie grinned as the rock hit the back of Bowers' head. 

"You losers are really irritating today, huh? I hate seeing your damn faces around." He gripped the knife in his hand. "Kill them." Vic and Belch hesitated, not moving from their spot. 

Richie had grabbed Eddie's hand and pulled him behind. Bowers, practically seething rage, grabbed Bill by the shirt and held the knife up to his neck. "Are you fucking deaf, huh? Did I stutter?" He stared at his lackeys. "Nobody would miss them anyways, huh? Nobody would miss a club of losers, would they?" Henry watched Bill's eyes mix with fear. 

He grinned, licking the blood off his teeth and spitting it on his cheek. "Y-yuh-yuh-you'r-re a fuh-fuh-fuhcking ps-psycho." Bill said through grit teeth, trying his best to be intimidating. "W-w-w-wanna say that again?" Bowers pushed the blade onto Bill's throat. Bill swallowed thickly as he shook in Henry's grip. He looked over at his friends to see them being subjugated. 

Richie was yelling at Belch, only to get a brutal punch to the face. _Jesus Christ._ Bill thought, his eyes drifting to Henry's again. That grin. He hated it. It was a malicious grin that had haunted Bill's mind for years. 

"Why don't you try saying something without stuttering, and I'll consider letting you off the hook?" Henry said with a chuckle. "Come on, surely you can do it, huh?"

"All those years of practice can _surely_ help you now, right?" Bill's breathing was extremely shallow, but he could feel himself begin to breathe faster. He grit his teeth so hard he felt like his teeth were going to break.

"He.. thrusts—" Bill's eyebrows scrunched together as a look of focus came onto his face. "his...f..—" He paused, taking a deep breath. Casting a glance to the right, he saw Richie and Ben on the floor. Eddie was kneeled by Rich, crying. Oh, god, this was all real. This was all too fucking real.

"fists ...agai.... against..—" Bowers was grinning like a fucking madman. That look he gave Bill sent him further down a spiral. He knew what he was doing. _And he knew Bill couldn't do it._

"The p...p—...po..po-pos—" His eyes glued themselves shut as he cursed at himself.

Bowers tightened his grip. "What a good try, stutter. Too bad you couldn't make it, huh?" He pushed his blade hard enough that it began to draw blood from his neck. "You know what? I'll carve my whole name in your stomach." 

"Hold him down." Vic and Belch came to him immediately, each grabbing one of Bill's arms. He squirmed hard against them, kicking and grunting. "L-l-let m-m-m-me— uh-us.. us— guh-guh-go—" Bowers lifted up Bill's shirt. 

Just as he was about to leave a mark in his skin, they were interrupted by someone's shout. "Leave them alone, Bowers!" Bill looked up to meet the most gorgeous eyes he'd ever seen. He made eye contact with the owner of the eyes and felt his heart leap out of his chest completely. Now wasn't a good time to fall in love at all. 

Bowers stood up, putting his knife away. "Oh," he said, a hop in his tone, "would you look at that! It's the Jew and the nigger. Don't believe you got any business interrupting us like that." The beautiful boy that had caught Bill's eyes stepped forward. 

"I think we do have some business here." God, he was so fucking hot in that stupid varsity jacket. "Yeah, and what's that? What does some popular jock have to do with a couple of fairies, a fatty and a slut?" Bowers said. "Unless... _oh,_ you know how to pick em, huh? The Loser's Club's new addition, the Jew and the fucking nigger. What a _perfect_ little crew." 

"You might want to be careful, Bowers. Your dad's coming down the street." The black boy said, pointing behind himself, to the car that was driving towards them. Henry mumbled 'fuck,' and ordered Vic and Belch to get back in the car. "I'll let you off today, but I still have a bone to pick with you fuckers." He passed by the two jocks, hitting the black boy's shoulder against his on purpose. 

Bowers drove away as soon as his father's car passed by. Bill could finally breathe, looking over at his friends. 

Eddie was hitting Richie's chest, crying, screaming "I thought you were fucking dead you fucking idiot! Fuck you!" as Richie laughed, coughing everytime he was hit. 

Beverly had Ben's head in her lap. "You okay?" He heard from above him. Looking up, his heart skipped a beat. Fuck.

The boy held a hand out, which Bill happily took. With the help of the other male, he stood up, his legs a little shaky. "The name's Stanley, but you can just call me Stan. This is Mike." He pointed to the black boy behind him. Bill flashed him a quick smile, but his full attention was on Stan. 

At this point, as if he didn't just get the shit beat out of him, Richie was off of the floor. Stan was beaming down at Bill. "You're Bill Denbrough, right? I hear a lot about you." 

"Pfft— you hear a lot about _Bill?_ What about me?" Richie walked up to them, wobbling around. His legs were limp as fuck. Stan looked at him, and with the same heartwarming smile, he spoke. "Yeah, sure." 

Eddie stood behind Richie, still mad and extremely worried as fuck. The thought of how many diseases could be on Richie and his knees now were a fucking _mess._

Looking around, Bill nodded his head awkwardly. He received a jab in the side by Richie. "Dude, why the fuck are you so awkward?" He whispered. "Sh-sh-shut the fuh-fuck uh-up, trashmouth." His cheeks flushed red when he caught Stan's stare and his beyond gorgeous smile. 

It was as if it was only directed towards him. Bill didn't say anything. More like, he couldn't say anything. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as his cheeks grew extremely hot. 

Wiggling his eyebrows, Richie put his arm on Bill's shoulder, resting his weight on him. "Stan the man, huh? You're pretty hot, huh! My friend seems to th—" Eddie grabbed him by the neck and pulled him back.

"E-Edd-..ie Spag-hett-..i— y-y-you're ..— choking—" He raspily called. The small boy let him go and pinched his arm. "Beep-beep, stupid!"

Stan chuckled. "It was great to _finally,_" he mumbled, "meet you, but unfortunately Mike and I have practice." Bill tried to not let his emotions show on his face, but of course, he had a habit of being an open book. His lopsided grin turned into one that seemed like a puppy pout. "W-well, it— it was... nice meeting you, t-too, Stan, M-Mike."

"Stick your tongue down his thro—" Richie yelled but Eddie slapped a hand across his mouth. Mike laughed. Stan and Bill stared at each other for a little more before the curly haired boy _actually_ left with his buddy. "Welcome to the Loser's Club, we'll see you later!" Rich shouted after them.

After the two were finally gone, Beverly and Ben had recovered. "Aw, it looks like someone has a big ol' crush." The redhead said. Bill's cheeks heated up. "Oh, god, please be quiet." Richie adjusted his glasses. "Dude, don't worry, I got you! I'll give you a hand. I'm pretty good with dating tips, considering i've dated many people before." He said. 

"What, seriously?" Eddie asked, clearly surprised. Hesitating, Richie nodded. "Uh.. y-yeah! Obviously." 

"I don't mean to interrupt this moment, but we should get to class before we miss anything." Ben commented.

"Shit, you're right."


	3. Too Shy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wish i could act in a movie. too bad i have no idea where to start!!

"I can't believe you stood there like a pole! If I were you, I would have fucked him in the middle of the street!" Richie threw his hands in the air angrily. "Stuck my tongue down his fucking throat!'"

"'Chee." Eddie said, grabbing the four-eyes' attention completely. "Shut it." 

Bill ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what happened," he sighed, thinking about the beauty again, "fuck." They walked down the school hallway, pushing past kids as they talked. 

"'Chee, do you want to come to my house later and watch a movie?" 

"Always, Eds! Wanna come too, Billy boy?" With a casual eye roll, he declined. "I'll pass. I'd rather n-not see you two making out like your lives duh-depend on it again." Bill shivered at the memory. 

"Hey, come on, you know I can't help it when Eds looks like a full on five course meal, okay?!" 

"Beep-beep, Rich." As they got to their lockers— which were right by each other, Bill found a note inside his.

He felt himself smile softly as he read it. "God, you're making me cringe." 

"Do you ever shut the fuck up, trashmouth?" Bill snapped at him. "No. Anyway, what is it? Who wrote it?" Richie looked over his shoulder and grinned devilishly. 

"Oh, no shit! It's your crush. Shit, is that his number? Lemme have it, too!" He snatched the paper out of Bill's hand. Richie whipped out his phone, immediately adding it to his contacts. Bill grabbed the note. "Guh-god dammit, Rich!"

Bill looked over the note again. 

_Hey, Bill. I'd be lying if I said I really didn't want your number in my contacts— but here's mine._

His handwriting was precious. It was beautiful. "We should go to the diner sometime— Beverly just got a job there and she said she'd snag us free smoothies." Eddie was ecstatic. "Really?! When does she start?"

"Dunno. All I know is that she'll let us stay there past closing time." Richie wiggled his eyebrows, extending an arm over Eddie's shoulders.

Eddie pushed him away and blushed. "S-shut the fuck up, dude, holy shit! I-I wouldn't...! What are you getting at?!" 

"You know exactly what I'm getting at, Eds! Oh, what I wouldn't give to hear your sweet moans!" Richie sighed, hugging himself and looking at Eddie longingly.

"O-oh— oh, _oh my god!_ You are _so_ disgusting!" 

As they were going back and forth at each other, Bill had added Stan to his contacts. He was carefully planning out a message to send as a greeting. 

_Hey Stan, this is Bill. I just got your note and_

He erased it. It didn't seem right. His eyebrows knit together as he concentrated. He was so focused in his thoughts that he didn't realize his phone was taken from him.

Once he realized, his eyes darted to Richie, who had his phone in his hands. "Richie, guh-guh-give me my phone buh-back." Richie looked at him with a grin. "No way, dude! Give your best bro a chance to help you out, 'kay?" 

Bill refused vehemently, trying to grab his phone, but Richie was way too fucking slippery. It ended up in a chase, with Richie busting out the school doors and booking it down the street. Bill ran after him, close behind. "Ruh-Ruh-Rich, you fuh-fucking ah-asshole, get back here!" 

All of a sudden, Richie came to a stop with a big ass grin. Bill stopped as well, confused. "The favor's on the house. Thank me now, for I _definitely_ just scored you some dick." Bill snatched the phone back, staring at the messages Richie sent to Stan. 

_to Sexy boy: h_  
_to Sexy boy: hey sexy, wss wonderin if you wanted to go to the crnival friday nd mayeb aftr we can fuck lol xx_

"Jesus christ, w-w-what the f-fuck is this?! Y-y-you even changed the fuh-fucking name!" Bill typed back frantically. 

_to Stanley: I sincerely apologize for that message. My friend took my phone away from me when I wasn't looking and you happened to be the one he first saw._

"Fuck you, Richie!" Richie laughed. "You love me, you know you do!" Bill flipped him both fingers. "M-maybe you sh-should go back to Eddie." 

"Oh, fuck, you're right. I'll text you later, tell me how it goes!" Richie ran back towards the school, leaving Bill alone. He sighed and began to walk back to his house. 

His stutter certainly became worse after the encounter with Bowers. Or... maybe it was after he met Stan.

Pushing the thought away, he was going to go back to his house when he remembered. Georgie wanted him to get his favorite cereal from the store. He'd gladly agreed— he would do _anything_ to ensure his little brother was happy.

He walked the opposite way towards the store. "He thrusts his fists against the p...p-p—" Balling his fists and cursing, he started over. "He thrusts his fuh-fuh—" 

It was a clean loop. Recite, if it failed, restart. Recite, restart. He walked into the store mumbling the same phrase, messing up every single time. 

He left with Georgie's favorite cereal in his hand and cherry chapstick. Bill flicked his tongue over his lips. Extremely chapped. He took the cap of the chapstick off, sliding it over his bottom lip and rubbing his lips together, popping afterwards. 

His phone buzzed in his back pocket. Replacing his phone with the chapstick, a feeling of embarrassment washed over him as he stared at the messenger app. He felt like he was being mocked. 

Bill ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to open it. What if Stan was laughing at him? Fucking Richie, he oughta teach that slimy bitch not to mess with him again. But of course he knew Richie would do it again— it was _Richie._

He took his chances and opened the messenger. 

_from Stanley: Sounds like a great idea._

Instantly, his legs felt like jelly. His head began to spin as heat rose from his cheeks up to the tips of his ears down his neck and stopping at his collarbones. His heart thudded against his chest. 

Bill bit his coated lips and read the next message.

_from Stanley: Just kidding. But I would actually love to go to the carnival with you._

Although he was disappointed—_and hated that he was_— it didn't seem like a bad idea at all. He quickly wrote back. 

_to Stanley: So, Friday then?_

He regretted sending that so quickly. 

_from Stanley: It's a date ;). I'll pick you up at your house then. Care to give me your address?_

The faded blush came back at full blast, a low whine escaping his lips as he had to sit down on the nearest bench. He looked up at the sky. 

He said it was a date. Looking back, he admired the message that Stan had sent. His words, although texts, held such care. 

_to Stanley: Sure, It's (z,,random address heehee).___

_ _Bill found himself ignoring Stan's flirt. He seemed to become an embarrassed mess everytime the curly haired boy messed with him. He just couldn't bring himself to tell Stan to stop, unlike Eddie. _ _

_ _A sigh escaped his lips as he rose from the bench. _ _

_ _——_ _

_ _"Billy! You're late!"_ _

_ _"I got a little held up. But look," he raised the cereal box, "it's your favorite." _ _

_ _Georgie beamed, balling the side of Bill's shirt in his small fist. "Let's go have some, Billy! Please?" He smiled and rubbed his hand on Georgie's head, messing up his perfectly placed hair. _ _

_ _"Ah-alright. You know wuh-what to do, right?" He handed his little brother the box. Georgie took the box excitedly and nodded his head quickly, running back into the kitchen. Bill smiled as he watched him run. _ _

_ _He walked by his mother, who was playing the piano. It was a nice melody that made all of them feel at peace. _ _

_ _Shortly after listening, he joined Georgie, who was struggling to pour milk into two bowls. Bill helped him out, tipping the carton for him. "Thank you, Billy! I was this close to getting it!"_ _

_ _"You'll get it next time, buh-buddy." They sat down at the kitchen table next to each other. As Georgie talked, Bill found himself zoning out and thinking about Stan. How his curls moved, how the sides of his lips curled when he smiled. _ _

_ _"Billy, are you listening?" _ _

_ _"O-oh! Yuh-yeah. Sorry, Guh-georgie." He looked down to see a pouting Georgie. He pat his head again with an apologetic look. _ _

_ _"I'll forgive you if you make me another boat! You know I love them!" _ _

_ _"Cuh-course I do. Anything to get you to fuh-forgive me." Bill teased. _ _

_ _He looked back at his phone. There was no new message from Stan, only an okay to his last message. He wanted to send another, but he didn't know what to say. _ _

_ _"Is that your boyfriend?" Bill choked on his spit, doubling over and coughing, hitting his chest with his fist. A few moments after, he recovered and looked at Georgie, red dusting across his cheeks. _ _

_ _"Huh-he's just... a fuh-fuh-friend, Georgi-ie." His tone, which didn't go unnoticed by Georgie, turned sad as he finished his sentence. _ _

_ _"But you like him?" He bit his lip and looked away. "Nuh-no, it—it's not like that, Georgie." His little brother pouted and furrowed his brows. _ _

_ _"Don't lie, Billy! You know lying is bad." Damn him for being such a terrible liar! He huffed and let his shoulders droop. "Oh-okay. Just— just a little bit."_ _

"What does he look like?" 

"Huh?"

"I wanna know what he looks like! Can I meet him? When can I meet him? Is he cool, like Richie?" 

Bill held Georgie by the shoulder, forcing eye contact. "Fuh-first, I don't know how Ruh-Richie got you to suh-say that he's _cool_, buh-but never listen to him. Ah-again. Second, I... just met him." He said. 

Georgie pouted. "You're gonna meet him on Friday, right? Can I come with you, please Billy?" He asked. 

"How did you know th-that?" He pointed to Bill's phone, which was laying on the table unlocked. Sighing, Bill shut his eyes, knowing he couldn't deny Georgie. 

"Please, Billy, please?" Cracking one eye open, he felt guilt wash over him. Georgie stared up at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen. 

"I-I'll tuh-talk to him, G-Georgie." Bill said with a smile. His little brother smiled brightly and hugged him. 

"You're the best, Billy!" A little after, Georgie yawned and held onto Bill's sweater. 

"Can we go sleep?" 

"Sure."


End file.
